Exterior Color: Red
Interior Color: Black
Transmission: 6 speed
Vehicle to be offered for Auction sale January 16th – 20th, 2013 at Russo and Steele's 13th Annual Scottsdale Arizona Auction. Please contact us for more information. The Viper was initially conceived in late 1988 at Chrysler's Advanced Design Studios. The following February, Chrysler president Bob Lutz suggested to Tom Gale at Chrysler Design that the company should consider producing a modern Cobra, and a clay model was presented to Lutz a few months later. Produced in sheet metal by Metalcrafters,[4] the car appeared as a concept at the North American International Auto Show in 1989. Public reaction was so enthusiastic, that chief engineer Roy Sjoberg was directed to develop it as a standard production vehicle. Sjoberg selected 85 engineers to be "Team Viper," with development beginning in March 1989. The team asked the then-Chrysler subsidiary Lamborghini to cast a prototype aluminum block based on Dodge's V10 truck engine for sports car use in May. The production body was completed in the fall, with a chassis prototype running in December. Though a V8 engine was first used in the test mule, the V10, which the production car was meant to use, was ready in February 1990. Official approval from Chrysler chairman Lee Iacocca came in May 1990. One year later, Carroll Shelby piloted a pre-production car as the pace vehicle in the Indianapolis 500 race. In November 1991, the car was released to reviewers with first retail shipments beginning in January 1992. The centerpiece of the car was its engine. It was based on the Chrysler LA design, which was a truck engine. The original configuration made it too heavy for sports car use, so Lamborghini, then owned by Chrysler Corporation, revamped Dodge's cast-iron block V10 for the Viper by recasting the block and head in aluminum alloy. Some within Chrysler felt the pushrod two-valve design, while adequate for the truck application, was unsuitable for a performance car and suggested a more comprehensive redesign which would have included four valves per cylinder. The year, 1997 Dodge Viper RT/10 Roadster that got the upgrade, and designers took their cues from the GTS. First and foremost, the standard 8.0-liter, V10 engine in the Roadster was upgraded to meet the 450 hp the GTS is capable of. Air conditioning, power windows, power door locks and a CD player come standard now in the 1997 Dodge Viper Roadster, previously only available (except AC) in the 1996 Dodge Viper GTS. In addition, the 1997 Dodge Viper Roadster comes with a standard hard-top. What does this mean for the 1997 Dodge Viper? Well, now all of the comfort and extra power of the GTS can be had with the fun and feel of being in a convertible. The loud side-pipes that the Dodge Viper Roadster had become known for are now gone, replaced by the quieter rear-exhaust system of the GTS, making all 1997 Dodge Vipers more compliant with new noise laws many states have. What began as a car for the power hungry tough guy uninterested in comfort has emerged in 1997 as a sports car that the masses can enjoy, though driving a car this powerful is not a task for a true speed novice. Owners of the 1997 Dodge Viper are thrilled about the new found power that they had been asking for since 1992, and about all of the standard options available. The 1997 Dodge Viper is a pamper-mobile compared to previous years, but hasn't lost anything, even gained some power. Only 117 were produced in 1977 and only 64 where finished in Red.
Interior Color: Black
Transmission: 6 speed
Vehicle to be offered for Auction sale January 16th – 20th, 2013 at Russo and Steele's 13th Annual Scottsdale Arizona Auction. Please contact us for more information. The Viper was initially conceived in late 1988 at Chrysler's Advanced Design Studios. The following February, Chrysler president Bob Lutz suggested to Tom Gale at Chrysler Design that the company should consider producing a modern Cobra, and a clay model was presented to Lutz a few months later. Produced in sheet metal by Metalcrafters,[4] the car appeared as a concept at the North American International Auto Show in 1989. Public reaction was so enthusiastic, that chief engineer Roy Sjoberg was directed to develop it as a standard production vehicle. Sjoberg selected 85 engineers to be "Team Viper," with development beginning in March 1989. The team asked the then-Chrysler subsidiary Lamborghini to cast a prototype aluminum block based on Dodge's V10 truck engine for sports car use in May. The production body was completed in the fall, with a chassis prototype running in December. Though a V8 engine was first used in the test mule, the V10, which the production car was meant to use, was ready in February 1990. Official approval from Chrysler chairman Lee Iacocca came in May 1990. One year later, Carroll Shelby piloted a pre-production car as the pace vehicle in the Indianapolis 500 race. In November 1991, the car was released to reviewers with first retail shipments beginning in January 1992. The centerpiece of the car was its engine. It was based on the Chrysler LA design, which was a truck engine. The original configuration made it too heavy for sports car use, so Lamborghini, then owned by Chrysler Corporation, revamped Dodge's cast-iron block V10 for the Viper by recasting the block and head in aluminum alloy. Some within Chrysler felt the pushrod two-valve design, while adequate for the truck application, was unsuitable for a performance car and suggested a more comprehensive redesign which would have included four valves per cylinder. The year, 1997 Dodge Viper RT/10 Roadster that got the upgrade, and designers took their cues from the GTS. First and foremost, the standard 8.0-liter, V10 engine in the Roadster was upgraded to meet the 450 hp the GTS is capable of. Air conditioning, power windows, power door locks and a CD player come standard now in the 1997 Dodge Viper Roadster, previously only available (except AC) in the 1996 Dodge Viper GTS. In addition, the 1997 Dodge Viper Roadster comes with a standard hard-top. What does this mean for the 1997 Dodge Viper? Well, now all of the comfort and extra power of the GTS can be had with the fun and feel of being in a convertible. The loud side-pipes that the Dodge Viper Roadster had become known for are now gone, replaced by the quieter rear-exhaust system of the GTS, making all 1997 Dodge Vipers more compliant with new noise laws many states have. What began as a car for the power hungry tough guy uninterested in comfort has emerged in 1997 as a sports car that the masses can enjoy, though driving a car this powerful is not a task for a true speed novice. Owners of the 1997 Dodge Viper are thrilled about the new found power that they had been asking for since 1992, and about all of the standard options available. The 1997 Dodge Viper is a pamper-mobile compared to previous years, but hasn't lost anything, even gained some power. Only 117 were produced in 1977 and only 64 where finished in Red.